Sophomore makes a difficult choice to hang up his basketball shoes.
By Imani Smith
Tyler Madison, who last season was a first-year power forward for Berry’s basketball team, said he suffered his first concussion after being hit in the temple playing basketball his freshman year in high school.
He said he didn’t think much of it at the time, because he had never had a concussion before. And, fortunately, he was symptom-free in only a few days.
Much has changed since then, including a still-growing national debate and discussion about high school, college and professional athletes risking their long-term health by suffering concussions on the field and on the court. The detection, treatment and prevention of concussions are forcing difficult decisions at all levels of sports. Madison had one of his own right here at Berry.
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| Tyler Madison, Berry sophomore. |
Defining ‘concussion’
A concussion is described as “a brain injury caused by a blow to the head or a violent shaking of the head and body,” according to Dr. Dan Lynch, a family practice physician.
Playing football his sophomore year in high school, in Bucks County, Pa., Madison suffered a worse concussion, knocked unconscious by a helmet-to-helmet hit. His symptoms this time included frequent headaches and memory loss, he said, and ultimately it was that concussion that put an end to his football career.
Though at the time it was a tough decision to make, he said, he knew it would be best for him in the long run. But basketball? It’s a non-contact sport, right?
Unfortunately, the concussions continued to cause Madison problems, possibly as a result of second-impact syndrome. Though rare, this syndrome occurs when a concussion is suffered before a first concussion has properly healed, which can cause brain swelling. Second-impact syndrome can result from even a mild concussion occuring days or even weeks after the initial concussion.
“I missed a lot of games throughout my career and was forced to sit out and recover from the lingering symptoms,” said Madison, who was team captain as a high school senior, when he led his team to the conference title.
Multiple concussions
After suffering seven concussions in high school in all, Madison’s neurologist did not support his decision to play any sport in college that involves contact. But he said he decided to take the risk and play basketball at Berry.
As protocol, college athletes are required to report their medical history, including concussions, and their medications. Knowing the number “seven” would not look good, Madison wrote on his form that he had had but two concussions.
In 2014, the NCAA asked 20,000 student-athletes to respond to a survey on concussions. (See the report’s results here.) Of those student-athletes, 13.3 percent of males reported experiencing one concussion, compared to 9.9 percent of females. Approximately 3.2 percent of the male respondents reported suffering multiple concussions, with the rate highest not surprisingly for football (9.5 percent). For basketball players, 5.5 percent reported suffering multiple concussions.
During his third practice as an eager freshman ready for the season to start, Madison said he endured his eighth concussion while attempting a layup. When a teammate went up to block the shot, Madison said he hit his head on the court.
“My symptoms lasted a long time, and they were so severe,” he said. “I gave it a month for the symptoms to fade, but they remained constant. I went to the neurologist and he said, ‘I am not going to clear you because of your medical history.’”
So Madison made a quality-of-life decision.
“I decided it was time for me to put my health and future over sports,” he said.
Symptoms persist
Now a sophomore, Madison said he still deals with the symptoms and effects of his numerous concussions.
“I have headaches daily, vision problems, and trouble focusing, especially in a classroom environment,” he said. “I have missed some of my classes because of my lingering headaches.”
He’s reminded of his life-altering decision when he visits Berry’s training room, which he does each and every day. While the men’s basketball team gets heat treatments and tape for practices, Madison goes for Acetaminophen, for his headaches. He also reports his symptoms to Ginger Swann, director of sports medicine.
He may not be able to put on a jersey like the rest of players, but as a team manager, he keeps stats, launders uniforms and helps out in drills at practices.
“For the most part, I am OK with not playing, but there are days where I miss it,” he said.
You can still find him shooting in The Cage, reminiscing about his days as a basketball player. And with a double major in history and secondary education, he hopes to become a high school teacher after graduating from Berry.